Today is February 28 and the calendar block for today is the Gems Block. Lots and lots of  half-square and quarter square triangles - with a few squares thrown in. I designed it in two colors. Here is the calendar image: Gems Block: 15" Here is the version that my sister Janet G. made. She prefers low contrast in her quilts. The multi-colored print is in the blue position of the block above. She also made another block for February, the 18" Double Geese. I shared mine almost 2 weeks ago on February 16. Here's Janet's: Double Geese: 18" Now, if this was a leap year, we'd have February 29 tomorrow and not March 1. Because my perpetual calendar has to work for any year, we added a block for February 29 (BIG WOW!) The block for February 29 is Chicago Geese. It's a block I designed about 25 years ago when I was visiting Chicago and saw a variation on flying geese in some print ad. I  moved some triangles around and here she is: Chicago Geese: 12" I had a ...

Today is February 24 and the calendar block for today is Sage Bud. My Calendar Girlfriend, Julia R. made her block using the Duchess Collection by Windham Fabrics. Duchess Collection by Windham Fabrics Here's Julia's block: Sage Bud: 12" by Julia R. Thank you, Julia, for sewing those triangles with precision and taking advantage of the lovely prints. What a fun block, huh? Do you have your own calendar yet? Did you want one for Christmas but they were sold out? Please let my publisher know that you were disappointed about that (as I am). General inquiries, website orders, product support:  ctinfo@ctpub.com Marketing department:  marketing@ctpub.com Sales department:  sales@ctpub.com It has taken 4 months to get the next batch of calendars and I'm hoping they're back in stock at the end of the month . . .

Today is February 23 and I'm sharing a block that came in last week while I was out of town and not able to post it. It's called Crow's Nest and is the February 19 block in my Quilter's Block a Day Calendar. It first appeared in the Kansas City Star in 1932 with an extra set of sashings around it. Mine is based on the 1933 version: Crow's Nest from Kansas City Star Here is the 1932 version as it appeared in today's fabrics. This was made by Patricia Bryant from my 2007 Block a Day Calendar . Yes. that's a crow peering at the block! Crow's Nest made by Patricia Bryant And here it is by one of my Calendar Girls, Susan B: Crow's Nest by Susan B. Thank you, Susan, for a lovely block in the middle of a dreary Winter! Do you have your own calendar yet? Did you want one for Christmas but they were sold out? Please let my publisher know that you were disappointed about that (as I am). General inquiries, website orders, product support:  ctinfo@ctpub.com Mark...

George Washington was our first president here in the USA. Washington Square is the block for today. What? You forgot what Washington looked like? Allow me . . . Printed fabric with vintage image of Washington Today is Washington's 293rd birthday. I even wrote a blog post about it here . And you can see ALL sorts of Americana quilts here  where I wrote another post about his birthday. Now, the calendar block for today is just triangles and squares, of course. My Calendar Girlfriend, Barb R. did a lovely job with her fabrics. As you can see, she had a bit of that fabulous Insectarium fabric to give a bit more personality to the blenders. Washington Square: 12" I made the same block using some Christmas fabrics: Washington Square with Christmas fabrics Thank you, Barb, for a lovely block in the middle of a dreary Winter! Do you have your own calendar yet? Did you want one for Christmas but they were sold out? Please let my publisher know that you were disappointed about that (as...

It slipped right by me - I just turned the page in my Quilter's Block a Day Calendar and here it is February 21 and the block for today is King's Crown! I've made several quilts using this fun block and I want to share those with you. The block in the center of this brown quilt is the King's Crown and I was using a Windham Fabrics collection. Center Block is King's Crown The next quilt uses 4 King's Crown Blocks and I stitched this for Blank Quilting. It appeared in Quilt Magazine in 2007 when I was an editor. Four King's Crown blocks The next quilt also uses four blocks, but they are placed side by side with some tricks with those corner squares. This was also sewn for a fabric company, but I forget which one! Here's one I made using some Kaffe Fassett prints. Again - four blocks set side by side with some fabrics changing in those corner squares. These blocks feature a center 8" square that is perfect for capturing an awesome motif. Here's a d...

I have a LOT of blocks in my calendar that have the word "goose" or "geese" in them. This one is a wild goose, or a goose in the wild or . . . Wild Goose Chase is the name of the block for today, February 20. Karen B (one of my Calendar Girls) made it using the Watermark and Insectarium Collections. What I want to know is who is chasing who? Wild Goose Chase: 10"  Here is a look at the lovely fabrics she chose: I wonder what the geese would do about all those butterflies flapping through the air? Do you have your own calendar yet? Did you want one for Christmas but they were sold out? Please let my publisher know that you were disappointed about that (as I am). General inquiries, website orders, product support:  ctinfo@ctpub.com Marketing department:  marketing@ctpub.com Sales department:  sales@ctpub.com It has taken 4 months to get the next batch of calendars and I'm hoping they're back in stock at the end of the month . . .

CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. The Shoofly Block is our feature today. It's simple with just 4 squares and 8 triangles. It was made by Kathy M. and she has been using the Find Your Way Collection by Lisa Ruble for Benartex. 14 fat quarters with so many possibilities! The main print in the dark background is my favorite. Kathy used just two fabrics for the block today. Shoofly Block: 12" I just received another Shoofly block from Linda D. and her's is sweet with lots of color: Shoofly by Linda D. Thank you, Kathy and Linda, for a lovely Shoofly blocks. Do you have your own calendar yet? Did you want one for Christmas but they were sold out? Please let my publisher know that you were disappointed about that (as I am). General inquiries, website orders, product support:  ctinfo@ctpub.com Marketing department:  marketing@ctpub.com Sales department:  sales@ctpub.com It has taken 4 months to get the next batch of calendars and I'm h...

CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. Today's calendar block is the Flower Basket in a 10" size. I've used this block before to make some quilts and I've pulled one photo from 2004! Here is the block made by my Calendar Girl Diann C. She stayed with the brown and gray as it's shown in the calendar, but used a deep purple for the "flowers." Flower Basket by Diann C. Diann is using the Tempest Collection from Windham Fabrics. Tempest Collection Now, let me show you my Sassy Baskets quilt from 22 years ago. (That was the name I gave it.) This is the staged shot taken for the magazine. Not sure of the final size. Bright, Sassy Baskets I like how the baskets are turned 90 degrees to their neighbors. Thank you, Diann, for your lovely rendition of this very traditional block. Do you have your own calendar yet? Did you want one for Christmas but they were sold out? Please let my publisher know that you were disappointed about tha...

CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. Today is February 16 and the calendar block is Double Geese. I made this several months ago and almost forgot it! But it was quacking really loudly in the closet and I had to let it out! The fabrics are SO glorious, aren't they? I used some of my Kaffe Fassett prints and they did not disappoint. Double Geese: 18" x 18" With such a large block you can use large scale prints (as you can see). They won't be chopped off into little, tiny pieces. Those five squares are cut 6-1/2". My Flying Geese units are 3" x 6" and are wonderful to show off those "wavy" prints. I pieced a few dozen of these without a plan in mind. Then - voilá - this block appeared! I have these leftover. 3" x 6" flying geese units with nowhere to go Now for another block to beg me to make it using the rest of these units. I'll wait for them to call to me from the drawers where they are sleepin...

CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. I have been sewing with Benartex Fabrics for 25 years. It all began when I was an editor with Quilt Magazine. Fabric companies sent bundles of their fabric to our office and with the promise of us using it in a featured quilt, they agreed to take out an ad. What a novel idea, huh? The first quilt is one you've seen here many times, the Royal Star. Based on a vintage block, I converted it from templates to rotary cutting and paper piecing (those pointy points). Yes, she was a cover girl! Royal Star made with Fossil Ferns fabrics This was also the cover quilt for my first book. But, let's talk about the QuiltCon block, since QuiltCon is this coming week in Raleigh, North Carolina. I was given 6 fat quarters of the Superior Solids and asked to make a 12" block. I selected 4 of the 6 with a block from my new calendar in mind. Four Superior Solids for my block They insisted they wanted to be photographed ...

CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. Happy Valentine's Day to all, near and far. Hearts abound in fabric, too! I made a few blocks using my calendar and so did one of my Calendar Girls. Here is the first one I made using the Equinox Collection by Benartex: February 14 Heart Block: 12" And the lovely block made by Diane L., who is using the Grounded Collection by Windham Fabrics. February 14 Heart Block by Diane L. And let's see a Valentine quilt from years past. These are simple appliqué patches. This one used some batiks from Benartex. The pattern is from my Cookie Cutter Hearts. Cookie Cutter Hearts And the large quilt made 20+ years ago in my Cookie Cutter series. I called it Hearts on Fire. Hearts on Fire: 43" x 63" Thank you, Diane, for your lovely Heart Block. I can see how this would be fun to make into a love-ly Valentine's quilt or coaster or a few into a table runner.

This is NOT a political post - I stay away from that topic as best I can. Yes, we here in America like to celebrate our early presidents who led us into freedom as a fledgling, new country. Whitehouse Steps is a vintage quilt block and it stands for the official home of whatever president lives there. It is white and beautiful and quite large. I've even toured the real one down in Washington, DC. Here is the block from my 2007 Quilter's Perpetual Block a Day Calendar. It was made by Patricia Bryant of Australia. She even managed to find a photo of our White House and put it in the center! 11" White House Steps by Patricia Bryant My new calendar block is a whopping 22"! I made a sweet quilt using some Americana themed prints by Windham Fabrics: Steps to the White House quilt I stitched it again and it's waiting for me to quilt it. I added some extra inner borders to get it to a 40" x 44" size (for a small child). Whitehouse Steps: 40" x 44" Squa...

CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. February 10 features the Lone Pine Tree Block in my calendar. It's 6". Pine Tree  February 11 (tomorrow) features the Little Star Block: The House (from Monday) and these two blocks were designed to go together. They were featured in a previous calendar and I made a quilt with them. But I can't find the picture of my quilt! Here are 3 quilts made by blog followers who used my Warm Welcome Home pattern: Warm Welcome Home pattern And another: Warm Welcome Home pattern And one more: Warm Welcome Home pattern Here is the link to the quilt pattern . You must have a copy of the calendar to make the quilt (to cut the block patch sizes). It includes a coloring chart for you to plan your fabrics. It is a 3 page pdf, and though it says it's a "quilt shop only program," that was from 2007 and I'm not offering these patterns to quilt shops at this time. Enjoy!! And if you make the quilt, I'd...

CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. Today is Monday, February 9 and the block for today is the Little House. It is 6" and I've used it in several quilts along the way. Here it is as it appears in my new calendar: I made a quilt for Benartex about 10 years ago using a Paula Nadelstern collection: Yes, those are VERY busy prints with the same contrast, so it's sort of hard to see the patches. But, it's a fun way to use up scraps for a small block. Tomorrow and Wednesday I'll be back with the next two blocks in the calendar - the tiny star and the pine tree. And I combined them into a quilt and so did one of my students. You'll see them then. If you don't have your calendar yet: Check your local quilt shop first so you can have your own Little House  blocks. You can find my calendar here, also (Maybe?) on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores

CLICK HERE to avoid those nasty ads on Follow It and read this the way it's supposed to be!!! It happens to all of us quilters - we come upon a quandary in our quilt making and we just don't know how best to cut our fabric to make it do what we want. We don't want to experiment with our precious (and expensive) fabric, so we just muddle along. The best tip I give my workshop students is to practice on paper first! To help them feel confident in learning a new technique, I bring along construction paper so they can practice first, or second or third - until they get it right. It's only paper! Here is a block that uses a directional print. It's the center of my Stacked Hearts pattern. That navy Kaffe Fassett fabric is out of print and I didn't want to make a mistake. I didn't want the fans to go sideways when I cut my squares. So, I practiced on scrap paper first! Let me show you. I cut two squares of paper (probably 4"; I didn't take note of that pa...